The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and gas in North Dakota, is down more than half from its historic peak, state data show Monday. State data show 93 rigs in active service in North Dakota, a state at the heart of the shale boom in the United States. That’s one of the lowest rig counts in years, marking a 50 percent decline year-on-year and a 55 percent from the historic peak reached in 2012. The low price of oil, down about half from its June 2014 peak for the U.S. benchmark, has forced energy companies to spend less on exploration and production. Oil services company Baker Hughes last week reported 988 active rigs in the United States for the week […]